Prison
by ShadowMeowth
Summary: The thoughts of a warrior goddess slumbering inside a crystal prison waiting for her time to awake.


**A/N:**_ This is the first time I put this section on the top of the story, but I have an important reason and I'd want you to read this before starting the read._

_This One-Shot isn't mine. A friend of mine wrote it, but since she doesn't have an account for the site or, at least, she doesn't use it, I loved this so much that I asked her to publish it here, and she agreed. So please don't give me the credit for this great One-Shot. Her writing has even more merit because she hasn't played any of the games of the_ **Final Fantasy XIII**_ saga, she only knows about it because of what I tell her about it. Yeah. I must be REALLY monothematic about these games. She managed to perfectly portrait Lightning and the situation after _**XIII-2 **_all by herself. That's quite amazing and all the credits must be given to her._

_I'm just sharing it with all of you because I believe it's so good so everyone should read it. So please, don't praise me in this one, right? I'd feel as a thief if you do! And I'm not stealing my friend's work! x)_

_This being said, enjoy it as much as I did! _

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**_Final Fantasy XIII-2_**

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**Prison**

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That place… hadn't changed in all those years. Or should I say centuries? The same floor, the same walls, the same balustrade. Since Lightning Farron entered her crystal stasis, Etro's shrine had been protected, but she didn't know if it was guarded, so no matter how much time passed, nothing would change when she awakened. In fact, in more realistic terms, it was as if time had stopped flowing in that place, and the young warrior knew it, even though she couldn't see with her own eyes.

She often remembered Serah and all that had happened, and everything that her death had caused. Lightning blamed herself for all this, unwillingly but not less painfully.

And to think that if she hadn't involved anyone into her battle, Chaos wouldn't have been unleashed…

Now, there wasn't anyone waiting for her. She supposed from her crystal prison that, when her long slumber ended, the world would be plunged into perpetual darkness, ruined because time didn't flow anymore. Not even a single breeze would blow, not even the sunlight would shine, not even any people to greet or hate her, if they knew who she was and what she had done. Sometimes she wondered if she really wanted to get out of the shrine, whether she would be able to face what was waiting for her out there, to assume that so many things wouldn't be back as they were once never again. Was it worth to keep fighting? Keep looking for a hope that possibly would never return?

_"Look for the hope to keep going on…"_

Lightning recalled her little sister's words before she got separated from her spirit. She knew she was right; she couldn't surrender without trying to fight before. Perhaps, if she could accomplish her mission, everything would be back to normal. It was a futile chance, but while her mind told her everything was lost, her heart refused to accept it.

Certainly, there was still something for those who had lost everything. She still could find it, find the meaning of her life. Finding light in absolute darkness, finding the hope that in her moments of solitude she thought she would never recover.

_I promised you, Serah. I promised I'd keep going on. For you, for me, for everyone. And I won't fail you, not again._

With a silent nod to herself, she kept aside the negative thoughts. To imagine things in a negative way wouldn't help her at all, and anyway being in crystal stasis meant she wasn't able to know, see or hear what was happening around her. Guessing it wasn't an option either: with a negative impression she would be surprised when her imprisonment ended, and with a positive one maybe she would be disappointed about with what was out there.

The only thing she didn't want to think about was that, no matter what happened, she didn't want to be alone. She remembered her former companions from her time as a l'Cie. The time of their joint rebellion against their fate, to defeat Orphan and save Cocoon. The time of Fang and Vanille's sacrifice for saving them from their crystallization and entering in crystal stasis instead of their friends, the time of Serah and Dajh's return after all they went through.

She remembered all of them, those who had helped her. Snow, Fang, Vanille, Serah, Sazh, Noel… and, most of all, Hope.

She had never thought about it, but thinking about her sister's words and the hope she needed to keep going very often ended making her recall the scared kid she had met in the Hanging Edge, in who she had put in so much effort to protect him, and the one who, same as her, wanted to protect her. For reasons she couldn't explain, the lad made her feel comfortable in his presence, warmer and closer than she was used to display with the others. Maybe even… happy.

All that had happened caused Lightning to often wonder what would had became of him. Perhaps, like the others, he would have forgotten she survived the battle in Cocoon. And being aware of that awoke an intense distress she couldn't place. She remembered everything and everyone; the fact some people didn't remember her wasn't really a problem for her.

However, Hope's case was different.

For the warrior, losing him meant something more than just a disappointment. She always had feared being alone, that people rejected or hurt her. That's why she pretended to look harsh towards the world and sometimes aloof, to the point she didn't have trusted many people throughout her life. But that kid always made her feel different, as if she was accepted just like she was, and she even had opened her heart to him, at least a little bit. It was a nice feeling that Lightning appreciated with silent smiles she only addressed to him.

Then she wondered if he still would remember her. If, assuming he was still alive, he hadn't given up the possibility of meeting again, at least once more. Of all the people, she'd like to see again, aside from Serah, she admitted to herself Hope had an important place in her heart.

Then again, she admitted to herself. His pride and the fact she always had other things to think about kept her from realizing it, but it was there indeed. The most evidencing proof was that she still remembered him.

And she'd never forget him, even if she spent a thousand years in that shrine.

She didn't mind waiting. Time, at this rate, had no meaning for her and for the world in which she was. All she knew for sure was that she had to fight, to follow a path that many had rather refused to walk. She couldn't give up. The relevance of the years she would spend or have spent in crystal stasis was nothing compared with her future quest.

She knew too well she would miss many things, that she'd often wish nothing had happened, as indeed it already had occurred. But everything had a reason, and she planned to find out it.

Anger, grief, despair… She assumed many of these things would pierce her thoughts, but nevertheless she wouldn't be beaten by it.

Because that was her mission, her promise in any circumstance.

For her friends, for the world she had known, for her sister, for herself… to find the hope she needed so much for not perishing, and perhaps to save everything for what she had cared once long time ago.

All of this was worth the trouble. And if she, Lightning, could achieve it… the waiting wouldn't be in vain.

For how long? A year, two? A hundred?

She actually didn't care. Because it was clear to her what she must do and why. She knew it the very moment she accepted that her duty was to stay in crystal stasis in order to fulfill her mission, in the very instant her body and mind had been trapped in that silent and lonely prison.

A prison that, although she didn't know, wasn't that unnoticed as she thought for everyone.

In a small altar, near the statue of cold crystal forming her figure, a beautiful vase laid, steady, in the middle of the chamber of the shrine. It looked a little out of place, but that didn't mean it broke the peace of the place.

Just as the unwavering determination of the pink-haired woman was reflected in a glint on the neat surface of her crystal statue, the petals of a rose placed on the vase shone in a special way with the last light of the sunset, brightening the chamber with a reddish color.

Perhaps a gift.


End file.
